Councils across the country are being squeezed thanks to the larger financial crisis looming over SCC's Conservative colleagues at Westminster.

David Hodge, leader of Surrey County Council (Image: TMS)

This includes a number of Surrey's senior politicians such as Jeremy Hunt , who has overseen arguably the biggest funding cuts to the NHS since it was introduced after WWII.

While the budget is set to be discussed by cabinet ministers next Tuesday - the same day as council tax - SCC failed to publicly announce the proposed cuts and instead kept the document safely tucked away on its website.

However a few pages down it outlines planned savings of £25.6 million from children's, schools and families services and a further £18.7 million from adult social care funding.

It seems that SCC hopes to meet growing demand by cutting funding - just like removing weeds from an overgrown garden.

While the Conservative administration is determined to keep this revelation in the dark for as long as possible, it has provided opposition parties the platform to shine the unwanted spotlight.

Green Party county councillor, Jonathan Essex, claims SCC's budget process is "shrouded in secrecy" and has urged cabinet ministers to be more transparent about such cuts and the potential impact on residents.

Green Party county councillor, Jonathan Essex (Image: Surrey Greens)

He said: "Here in Surrey, the budget process is still shrouded in secrecy.

"There is a lack of transparency around where the additional cuts will fall and when, let alone the multi-year cuts already agreed in previous years.

"It is not acceptable to ask councillors to vote on a budget when the full financial impact has not been disclosed to them in any shape or form.

"We should not again be asked to vote on a financial 'envelope', without sharing the details of what the service changes to meet the millions of pounds worth of cuts actually represent."

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Surrey's Liberal Democrats has also accused SCC for asking residents "to pay more for less" and its leader, Cllr Hazel Watson has demanded it takes "its share of the blame for the financial crisis at County Hall."

It would be refreshing and reassuring for Cllr Hodge and his cabinet ministers to do just that.

SCC should step out from the shadows instead of picking and choosing which important decisions to publicly announce - surely they owe it to Surrey's taxpayers?

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